Sneak Peek at the Public Art Plan for The Met in Vaughan

Urbantoronto.ca
Jan. 24, 2018
By Jack Landau

Construction is in full swing at the Vaughan site of Plaza and Berkeley's The Met, a 35-storey condominium tower and townhome development on Jane Street north of Highway 7, designed by Quadrangle. With the tower preparing to break into the nascent Vaughan Metropolitan Centre skyline, we are taking a closer look at some of the public spaces that will help knit the project into the nascent local urban fabric.

In an earlier article, we took a look at the massive Edgeley Pond and Park being planned for the lands to the south of The Met. The Met will connect to it with a landscaped area by Janet Rosenberg + Studio at the south end of the site. On the north side of the site, a landscape plan for The Met shows how the project will meet Jane Street, including details about a public art installation planned at the corner.

The art installation-a series of multi-coloured poles-has been hinted at since the earliest renderings of the building emerged in 2015. We were given a better look at the art the following year when the project's scale model was installed in The Met's presentation centre. Now, landscape plans show additional details.

The plans outline a series of 115-millimetre diameter, 5.5-metre tall vertical aluminum poles mounted to concrete footings, with powder coat finishes of yellow, green, blue, red, and pink. Not an official part of the City of Vaughan's Public Art program, these colourful poles are in the process of being worked out with York Region due to their location within a regional right-of-way.